Nigeria to publish results of mining license review next week

CAPE TOWN, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Nigeria has completed a review
of its mining licenses and will publish the results next week,
the mines minister said on Monday, adding that those who did not
comply faced having their licenses revoked.

Nigeria, the continent's top crude oil producer, launched
the review late last year to overhaul a largely unproductive
sector dominated by small-scale artisanal miners who comprise
around 80 percent of the sector.

"We have completed the review and we will be publishing in
another week those whose licenses are due for renewal, (and
those) who, if they refused to do what is expected of them in
terms of the law, would have their licenses revoked," Kayode
Fayemi, the minister of solid mineral development, told Reuters
on the sidelines on an African mining conference in Cape Town.

He said that an amnesty period for companies to comply would
not be extended beyond March 1 as Africa's largest economy
looked to grow its nascent mining sector and diversify away from
an over-reliance on crude oil.

Fayemi said the long-term vision would be to significantly
grow the mining sector from the 0.34 percent it currently
contributed to gross domestic product (GDP), to around 5 and 10
percent, without providing a timeframe.

"The important point here is to let people who are
interested in the sector to know that it is now business
unusual, we would enforce the law and we would use to encourage
serious investors to come into the space," he said.

Nigeria first started mining activities in 1902, and has at
least 44 known minerals including gold, iron ore, tin and coal.

Fayemi said government also wanted to fully activate a solid
minerals development fund, already provided for in existing
legislation, as a way to kick start investment.

"Somewhere in the region of about 200 billion naira ($1
billion) fund that could accessed by serious investors with
bankable plans. Frankly by the first quarter of next year I
would really like to see this fund in place," he said.